1.Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicise his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself and be informed without hindrance or discrimination
2.Exercise of the said rights shall not be hindered or limited by any type or form of censorship
Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Article 37.º

Gonçalo Amaral - Maddie Case leads to Divorce

The marriage of ten years yielded to the pressure of the Maddie case. Without assets nor money, the former inspector returned to his parents' home at the age of 53. To Nova Gente he spoke of his divorce, of his writings, about his daughters and of the litigation with the McCann couple...

After a few years you have decided to separate from Sofia. Did that happen as a consequence of the problems that you still have with Maddie's parents, namely, the fact that you were left without any assets, without means to provide for the family?

It is still to early to make that kind of accountability. Marriages end for various reasons, which should usually remain within the personal scope of the former matrimony. However, it was a considered decision between me and the mother of my daughter, Inês.

I remember Sofia has always supported you and at all times during this process. Even though you are separated does she continue to support you? In what way? Do you, Gonçalo, also support her?

Indeed it has been like that and it remains as such, however right now I want to preserve hers and my space. It is good to know that she is willing to support me, but I feel better to go alone to the final fight. As someone once said: when we were kids we did not call our family to fend for us. Now it is time to be alone, making sure that this is the best way to defend my daughter and her mother interests.

Will there be a filing for divorce?

The divorce is by mutual agreement, and I do hope that is declared as soon as possible, so Sofia can follow her path and I mine. We do not hold any grudges and our only concern is the future of our daughters. I often say if the mother of my daughters is well, they will also be well, and that is my main preoccupation.

How often do you visit your daughters? How do you manage that? Do you go to the Algarve to see them or do they come to Lisbon?

Whenever I can I will go to the Algarve or they will come to Lisbon. I still consider Rita as my daughter, even though legally I might not be [her father], I continue to worry about her and her future; it was a decade that I saw her grow up, and it is not possible to erase that as if switching off a button. The internet and the cell-phone also help shortening the distance from my daughters.

You have been increasingly close to your eldest daughter, from another marriage. Did she followed your steps?

My eldest daughter, now 27 years-old, became my confidant. I still worry about her future, even though she has achieved her academical goals (Bachelor's Degree, Master in Criminal Law and an unemployed 1 Lawyer), I generally say she is part of the so-called “geração à rasca” [desperate generation] 2. Her mother and I were able to do for her what many parents did and wished they had been able to do, which was to provide her with conditions in order to succeed, but that seems to be delayed for now. My only wish is for her to be happy.

Don't you miss your family life?

I believe the nostalgic feeling for the family life is not beneficial. Obviously, I cherish the memories of that family life, but I am divorcing from my wife not from my daughters, and for me they remain the primary reason for my existence.

Are you enjoying your new life as a 'single man'? Is it easier to be married or to be single?

It is different, it isn't possible to make any comparisons.

How did you solve things? Was it difficult, lengthy, complicated?

It wasn't easy, but neither was it difficult. There was a consideration and a joint assessment of our relationship; the conclusion that it was exhausted, reached calmly and quietly, made us understand that it was necessary to change our lives, nothing more.

Did you ever thought that because of an investigation, such as Maddie's, your life would be turned upside down?

I never thought that, but that was only possible due to the servilism seen in our country in its relations with the United Kingdom, where our politicians and our intellectuals have forgotten the values of justice and truth. If, relatively, to the politicians, it is normal that they choose reasons of State rather than values that shape democracy, it is not acceptable nor understandable for the intellectuals to do the same. On the other hand, families feel helpless not knowing what they can do in pursuit of their loved one, and what to expect of police and judicial authorities.

The fact that you have now, with 53 years-old, returned to Olivais [area in Lisbon], to your father's home, is it a return to your origins, to the beginning of your life?

It is a fact. My mother has passed away, my brothers no longer live here, and now it is just me and my dad relearning to live together. It has been interesting in every aspect, mainly because he still sees me and my friends as the youngsters of other times portrayed in the book dedication [Vidas sem Defesa/Defenceless Lives] to the “moços do meu bairro” [boys from my neighbourhood].

How is life treating you?

My life is at a stage of profound changes. Everything is going well in terms of feeling supported by my family and childhood friends, here in the neighbourhood I am just like anyone else, I circle almost anonymously amongst friends and acquaintances. In economic and financial terms I am starting to take the necessary steps towards stability. To this end, I have defined a strategy with my new lawyer, which is to oppose the legal action taken by the McCann couple and to solve in a comprehensive manner all other situations.

“Vidas sem Defesa” [Defenceless Lives] is a manual for the parents of missing children or a cry of revolt? What led you to write this third book?

Defenceless Lives is a manual for the parents of long term missing children, for technicians working in the area of support to these families and also a cry of revolt in the absence, in our country, of structures capable of studying the phenomenon and of giving the answer that should be given during any disappearance of a child. A fast and effective response is slow to occur, there isn't a unified police structure, planning and specific training is lacking.

Of all the case mentioned by you in this book, which moved you most? And Rui Pedro's case?

All of them have touched me, it is difficult to elect one amongst all the cases, all of them filled with despair and anguish. Rui Pedro's case [disappeared in 1998] is special, since it serves as example of the inertia and inefficiency of the police, as a result of lack of planning and specific training of the investigators in charge of the case initially, but also as an example of the the struggle and tenacity of a family, particularly the child's mother, who did everything so his disappearance would not fall into oblivion or ended up covered in dust at the judicial archives.

The introduction to the book is a return to your childhood neighbourhood, of always... What lead you to write that memory?

It is an important memory because it took me to the time when the children of this country seemed able to play, like flocks of sparrows in the wild, and grow away from the dangers of today, without internet or cell-phones, and, as everyone says: we were happy. The dedication to the “moços do meu bairro”, was made after I returned to the neighbourhood were I grew up, where I met again many of my childhood friends and companions of those times. Amongst them, and still living in the same building, I have found the father of Margarida, this is a young woman of 19, who struggles like we do for the realization of her dreams. Among those, she dreams of studying theatre, if possible in England, but due to the current financial crisis, that might not be so easy. I always tell her it is good to dream and to believe in the realization of our dreams. Margarida decided to be baptised by the Catholic religion, something which will take place in the coming months, at the moment she is preparing herself at the local church in order to fulfil her desire and she has already chosen the godfather. The choice fell on me and fills me with pride, not only for the affection that I have for her, or for the friendship of decades with her parents, but mostly because I see in her a young woman who wishes to grow in faith, approaching the Church, knowing Jesus Christ, without stopping to live her youth times, like all young people she is able to distinguish between the temporal and spiritual. It was close to the parents of Margaret and her youth that I have rediscovered lost friendships over the years from a life of wanderer due to my profession as a criminal investigator.

Writing has been a constant since you retired as a Judiciary Police inspector. Is it a passion?

I will reveal a secret. In my teen years I started “scribbling” an account about my family's life. We originate from a small village in Beira Alta [Northern region of Portugal] which in the early years of the 1960's migrated to Lisbon in search of a better life, having gone trough bad moments, but many good, remembering well what meant to be a member of a large and poor family, but when we were all together those were moments of eternal happiness. I never finished that story of life hoping one day to do it, but everything has its time and the right time to do so will arrive. For now it is time to conclude the “Madeleine case” and write about what, in my opinion, still remains to be done to ascertain the truth, the steps of investigation that need to be taken to know what really happened to that child. The investigation of this case can be considered as an unfinished investigation that needs to be completed. As I write about the “Madeleine case”, about which I am not obsessed, I fight solely for the fulfilment of justice and truth, values ​​that shape my life and the so-called democratic societies. I am also writing about another police world, the drug trafficking.

Do you already have an idea for the next book?

I have an unfinished book, with the title: “Trafficking and passions”, where I give an account about the criminal investigation of the crime of drug trafficking over the past three decades, the criminal organizations, traffickers as persons (subject to desires and passions), and not as mere criminals, the methods used by traffickers and the response given by the Judiciary Police.

The civil suit for defamation brought against you by the McCann couple - that was about to be tried but was postponed - and where they claim for 1 million and 200 thousand euros, do you see that as a Coup de grâce applied by them? Do you have good chances of winning?

It's not a Coup de grâce, it is a serious attempt to annihilate me as a person and as a citizen, however the McCanns have no facts to substantiate their claim and perhaps they don't even have the legitimacy to do so. I have always trusted in justice therefore I am certain and confident of winning that civil case.

Marinho Pinto has offered himself to testify in favour of the McCanns against you. What do you have to say about that? And what exactly is the libel case about?

Dr. Marinho Pinto is a free citizen and he is entitled to be a witness for anyone, whomever they might be, and regarding that matter I have no further comments. This is not a libel suit. In fact, under the scope of the injunction filed by the McCanns, the Superior Courts have already decided that I did not violate any private rights of the couple, let alone libelled them.

They were able to freeze your assets, the fees of “Maddie, The Truth of the Lie” book, in short, they have left you without funds and without employment; they have affected your life and of your family. Can you understand the reason why the couple wishes to see you completely destroyed? Is it hatred against you? What feeling does all this provoke in you?

The couple does not forgive me for the reason that in my book “Maddie, The Truth of the Lie” [“Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira”] I wrote the facts and the conclusions of the investigation up to September 2007. They had difficulties in coping with the truth. Initially they've depreciated the book. Two years later they remembered the book existed, coincidentally, I had just been appointed to be a candidate for Mayor of Olhão by a certain political party, and the book was about to be translated into English and eventually released in the United Kingdom. That was too much for them, they had to carry on with their campaign of discredit against my person and jeopardise the subsistence of my family, which by the way is not at all Catholic, as they claim to be. And all because the couple is afraid the truth is known.

Gonçalo, you have won at the Court of Appeals the injunction against the publication of the book “A Verdade da Mentira”, where you defended the thesis that Maddie had died in the Algarve. The appellate judges considered the prohibition on the book violated the Constitution. Was that a nice present? What happened next? Did you have the books returned, were you indemnified in some way?

The McCann couple does not comply with the decisions of the Portuguese courts since they have not yet returned the book copies of “Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira”, given to their lawyer as a trustee, although the court has already adjudicated 3. I doubt the books still exist, I even suspect they might have been destroyed, reason why I denounced the case to the Public Ministry [Attorney General's Office].

After nearly five years from Maddie's disappearance, do you believe the case will be reopened? Do you still defend the reconstruction?

It is very difficult for the case to be reopened in the near future, it's all a matter of political will. However the decision of the civil process, may play a role in creating that political will. In the case of a reopening of the investigation, the reconstruction will always be one of the first steps to be taken, there is no doubt about that.

Does the couple have feelings for vengeance against you?

I don't know if they nurture feelings of vengeance on me, everything points that way. They prey on me to silence uncomfortable voices.

The dispute that opposes them against you will end when? Is it a high price to pay because you didn't found their daughter or because you have said that probably they were the negligent ones?

They were negligent, you need only read the archival dispatch made by the Public Ministry and recall the facts. I have nothing to pay to the McCann couple, but they do, they should have already acknowledged publicly the commitment and efforts of the Portuguese investigators in their search for their daughter, often leaving behind their own families and children. They are rich and still ungrateful.

Where have you gone to get the strength to continue life?

To my daughters and to the values that I defend, among them, it is always worthwhile reiterating, justice and truth.

Do you have feelings of revenge at those who destroyed your life, like the McCanns?

I do not have feelings of revenge because I understand the couple is doing a “headlong rush”, for example, if the process where Madeleine's disappearance was investigated had not been prematurely archived, the reality would be different. However, the moment will come when the damages caused to my family and to myself will have to be accounted for and reimbursed, there is no doubt about that.

Gonçalo, you have lost everything you had. How have you survived?

I have survived with my retirement pension, or rather, with part of it, even because the company that I created after my retirement from the Judiciary Police has been ruined by the McCann couple. I do have projects for my life that do not depend on that couple, but since I know they do seek to destroy me I will not reveal them here.

Who was and who is now Gonçalo Amaral? Do you continue to fight for what you believe?

I am a Portuguese man like any other, with flaws and virtues, I have always placed my family above all, despite having constituted family twice. I live for my daughters and for the happiness of those who are near me, it is enough to know that the other is happy for me too be also happy. I defend the values that life has ​​instilled in me, and yes, I am stubborn in defending those values​​. A democracy only makes sense if there is justice and truth, if a man has value beyond the State, there are not neither should there be reasons of State which place in question those principles.

Do you miss being an inspector? Of returning to the investigation? What do you miss most?

Of the adrenaline, of the decision on the edge, of the autonomy and initiative that each criminal investigator should have.

If the McCann couple come to Portugal to attend the trial, would you like to address them and tell them something?

Those questions would have to be answered within the scope of the criminal process that was investigating Madeleine's disappearance.

What would you like to tell the couple if you could say something to them?

That the lack of money is bad, but the lack of judgement is much worse.

What are your expectations for the future?

They are good, I hope in the coming months to resolve, with the support of my lawyer, all the problems that I have and be able to fulfil the dreams of my children and of those who are close to me.

And a dream of yours...

I would like one day to create a foundation that would support the integrated development of underprivileged children in order to fulfil their dreams and give them the material conditions to survive in a society which increasingly turns its back on the other.

2 “Geração à rasca” - A youth movement that was created to protest against unemployment, opposes the deterioration of working conditions and the dismantling of social rights. They also actively question the effectiveness, inevitability, legitimacy and democratic nature of the intervention of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and Financial Stabilization Fund in Portugal. Term used to describe the younger generation that is facing difficulties due to the financial crisis.

3 Res judicata, final judgement that is no longer subject to further appeals.

You Might Also Like

63 comments:

If this is true and there was something written a few weeks back, which I chose to think was 'wishful thinking' by the author, I am deeply sadden to learn that Sr Amaral's marriage is possibly at an end How could one missing child have caused such worldwide\international curiosityYet yesterday six very young children were killed by a drone in the war zone areas of the world, they are sexless, nameless and forgotten, by the time the ink on the copy dried

It is time the case of Madeleine was all over and one with

Mediums or no mediums as there was no 'live' sighting of Madeleine within 24 hours, it reasonable to assume that she is dead considering her age and the nature of her disappearance. With all the twists and turns in this case, had a child been stolen to order to be adopted, then a younger one would have been taken, then there might just have been some hope

This is so so sad,just to think that the mccanns could do this to Sr Amaral it makes my blood boil, when like us he only wants the TRUTH to come out for Madeleine.the mccanns are plain vile and that goes for thier best buddies the tapas pals. I just hope at the court case Sr Amaral has an ace up his sleeve to put the mccanns and tapas pals where they belong,IN JAIL.God Bless you Sr Amaral.

I hope & pray Goncalo Amaral is vindicated at libel trial,a good man,i detest the McCanns and the british media for vilyfying this honourable man.I feel so sad for him and his family,please Joanna can you tell me how i can donate to Goncalo's fund Thankyou.

Sometimes a person from the Uk, perhaps England, uses to comment here.It is the person who wrote about the Scotland Yard and wrote "The McCanns are finished".I hope this person is still present on this blog. Where are you?

Check on The Telegraph.co.uk. search for video "search for madeleine-mccann must- go- on" and you can see that probably the cameraman directly filmed Kate's ring, Gerry covered her hand with his,hiding the ring, the interview continued and one can noticed that, although Kate's ring is hidden, the Telegraph repeats the scene showing the expensive ring.

They both look very well during that interview of the 12th, May.

An it is lovely to see them the following day in Ireland, destroyed, after Cameron's decision.

Has Madame Isabel Duarte wooed Marinho "Photoshop" Pinto with the intention to have him play crucial roles in her opera-trials? No/Yes/Maybe? What do YOU think?

We do have some circumstantial and SLA* evidence that this was the case but (sorry) no DNA traces.

"Wot evidence?"

This is old news admitedly, but I missed it last year, I mean, the year before, and then had to wait for this years' St. Valentine's Day to give it more punch - I used to work for "Lift Repairs & Consulting" so I should know a thing or two about timing...

Anyway, if I had reported it two years ago, it would not have made much sense to you because Marinho "Photoshop" Pinto had not yet played a pivotal role in the "character assassination" of the hero (G. Amaral) nor for that matter had "Photoshop" been lined up by Madame Isabel as a guest actor in her forthcoming VIP court operas in Faro and Lisbon.

Do remember that Marinho "Photoshop" Pinto will play the post-modern equivalent of Judas Iscariot in these. I refer here of course, to the pending Amaral "trials"...

How do I know all this? I hear you asking...

Well, basically from the forensic analysis (SLA*) of a posting in Madame Duarte's blog ("Superior Council") signed by someone else on her behalf (my assumption) and entitled "Um “Jantar Institucional" e a Sobranceria Institucionalizada" which roughly translated reads:

AN "INSTITUTIONAL DINNER" AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZED SUPERCILIOUSNESS" (inverted commas in the original).

Hold on to the title for a mom... it takes about thirty seconds to sink in...

After much after-thought, bearing in mind that Marinho Pinto accepted her invitation and attended the dinner both were there and human nature being what it is, I cracked the title.

The title is, of course, the key to the evening's intentions! What SLA* tells us about the title is:

"UNDERCOVER OF AN OFFICIAL DINNER WE TASTED THINGS OFF THE MENU" or, if you prefer, "did things that were not on the official programme..."

Minor peccadilloes were later reported by an undisclosed source, but we won't go into them here. The source is unreliable. :d

Anyway, continuing...

The key to the dinner's intention is underlined by the use of inverted commas in "Institutionalized Dinner" (read: "informal dinner where it is not necessary to wear tails. Just bring the appendages you born with and you can leave your hat on ah-ah-ah".

To me this is subjective, symbolic proof that Isabel Duarte may be guilty of wooing Marinho Pinto for a gang dinner with a view to enlist his help for the "decapitation" she was planning ahead on behalf of her millionaire clients, namely Kate and Gerry McCann - a manouvre Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" Zelle aka Mata Hari herself, would have been proud of.

Naturally, I have no idea of what kind of favours have been exchanged during and/or after the dinner but YOU can imagine.

Disclaimer: My meditation on a title is one of pure academic interest (if any) which I felt like sharing with one or two of my friends here (if any). Naturally, I make no allegations.

...................................................

Now, a non-virtual friend sitting next to me at the "Carlos Bar" in Praia da Luz, taps me on the left shoulder, smiles and comments out of the blue:

"Did you know the olfactory nerves lead to the rhinencephalon, a "primitive" part of the brain which is probably heavily involved in emotional reactions?".

@14/@15 I'm sorry but I fail to see the relevance of those two comments to the matter at hand, i.e. the above interview. Both are simply innuendos without solid substantiation. But thanks for the input.

I believe in Evil, I believe in Satan.the McCanns are the Satan themselves. The Evil they spread around is incredible.Maybe Maddie was taken by an angel and that was her chance to be happy.But Amaral will not lose. He will stay here with us, defending her case.Still a few months and the Met will prove he is right and they will show the known truth to the UK and to the world.I wish I could write Portuguese to comfort him.Our dearest Amaral fighting the Devil.

:a I agree to disagree. I think #15 has a point even if he expresses it in a rather fluent, funny manner. In my perception both postings (14 and 15) are about romance. Marriage being an extreme variant of the same and a ring is always a symbol of that.

OK, strictly speaking they were both slightly off the mark but not exactly in orbit. :c

I have just checked the link (I can read fluently in Portuguese by the way) and it seems clear to me that Isabel Duarte did invite Marinho Pinto for dinner and that he did come.

Indeed his presence is, in retrospect, much appreciated by her (spokesperson). This does not have to, BUT can be interpreted as "wooing", particularly bearing in mind what happens afterwards...

I have yet to check the SLA link but may be s/he has a point there too.

It is also on record that Isabel Duarte voted for Marinho Pinto, mutatis mutandis - possibly to obtain her vote but the reverse was also true.

Now, we find Isabel Duarte as the lawyer for Marcos Aragão Correia (a character pivotal in the character assassination of Gonçalo Amaral paid, by his own admission, by Metod3/who was in turn contracted by the McCanns.)

Marinho Pinto meanwhile, turns up as a key witness in the last three trials involving Gonçalo Amaral (two to go) even when Pinto was the one who wrote that article in the "Expresso" newspaper (and the "Photoshoped" photos of Leonor Cipriano that went with it) that were subsequently used in court to "assassinate" the character of Gonçalo Amaral.

Worst! "Photoshop" refuses to be cross-examined by the defence in the last Amaral trial, by invoking his privilege as an "accessory to the process" - or words to that effect.

Surely this is a strong indication that something is going on.

My feeling is that the head of the bar should never be allowed as a witness in court, certainly not in this case but I may be biased. It is extremely unfair and worst, highly suspect in this case.

I don't think, #15 goes as far as to suggest Isabel Duarte has shared a bed with Marinho Pinto (they are probably too arthritic for that) but they have certainly shared a table, drank together, and must know each other very well.

We really don't know if as a result of that dinner (or others before)"Photoshop" becomes a staunch pro-McCann in spite of all the circunstancial evidence. A man of his purported intelligence should know better.

Joke or not joke, the association of the two looks bad for the Portuguese Justice system. I mean Isabel Duarte is being paid a fortune by the McCanns' and certainly Marinho Pinto's time won't be free (...)

Marinho Pinto should not be allowed to be a witness in these cases and is a shame that he is. It makes Portugal look like some kind of Banana Republic where the top monkey does as he pleases.

Joana, for a moment I thought you had lost your sense of humour but I think I know what you meant.

//The McCann couple does not comply with the decisions of the Portuguese courts since they have not yet returned the book copies of “Maddie: A Verdade da Mentira”//

Can you tell me why the courts have allowed for the McCanns/Duarte to not return the books? what is the point of the Judge passing judgement on the book to be returned, when infact a year has passed and they have not returned them, is this allowed to be, it certainly wouldn't be in the UK, and if it was the other way round the McCanns and Carter Ruck wouldn't have let this happen......what is going on with this case???

Imo the UK Government/rich backers are helping the McCanns, but I don't get it........ why are the Portuguese Government, Judges and Police authorities also helping the McCanns and sooo against Snr Amaral, very strange. Justice will happen for lil Maddy and GA, as he says he has no doubt that he will.

@19 Hi Gina, unless someone [ex. an interested party like the book publishers] makes a complaint against the McCann couple/Isabel Duarte failure to comply with the superior court ruling, no one will take action against them. However, there is a chance now for that to happen, after Gonçalo Amaral made a denunciation to the Public Ministry [A.G.O.].

@22 Perhaps you're right, though I'm inclined to see this as far worse in comparison: «Five senior 'Sun' journalists, two MoD staff and a police officer taken in dawn swoop as new front opens in bribery scandal» http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/eight-arrests-as-murdoch-throws-staff-to-the-wolves-6795254.html There isn't such thing as a perfect justice system, that is why sometimes the law needs to be reformed.

Thank you, Joana.I hate to see Sr. Amaral mistreated because he did his job and expressed his EXPERT opinion. I don't like to see the Portuguese police denigrated as they have been in this case. They invested a great deal of time and money into looking for this child. In his book, Sr. Amaral seems like a decent man with a good sense of humor. I sincerely hope he has the last laugh.

@18 Sorry to pick on you again. You don't say or write "I agree to disagree", you say "we agree to disagree" or "I beg to differ". Like you don't say "bras clip" but "bras clasp" :o that said I was impressed with what you wrote about Photoshop. Who the hell does he think he is? Funny laws you have in Portugal. I mean imagine Cameron being a witness for the McCanns? I mean, it is bad enough he is giving them preferential treatment with the Scotland Yard and all that and having us all pay for it - both those who believe the McCanns' are innocent and those who don't. The McCanns' innocent? :e

If I were you I would keep away from that website. Chances are it has been set up by the McCanns counter-information unit. I know for sure the site leaves cookies in your hard disk, tracks your IP address, mouse movements, etc. Do so at your own peril.

"Dr. Marinho Pinto is a free citizen and he is entitled to be a witness for anyone, whomever they might be, and regarding that matter I have no further comments" (Gonçalo "Big Rock" Amaral")

Of course he has no further comments. That is why Marinho Pinto has, as the head of the Portuguese lawyers association been called to the dock by his close dinner/drinking companion Isabel Duarte.

"Photoshop" will be there to intimidate both the junior lawyers and the judge. He certainly succeeded in doing so during the last episode of "The Character Assassination of Gonçalo Amaral"...

Fortunately (fingers crossed) he will not succeed in intimidating the senior appeal judges that will look into the case afterwards - should it come to that. The reason is the Portuguese Justice minister loaths the man! :i

"A democracy only makes sense if there is justice and truth, if a man has value beyond the State, there are not neither should there be reasons of State which place in question those principles." (Gonçalo "Big Rock" Amaral)

:n BRAAAAAAAAAVO!

Refering here to Article 37 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic which the McCanns and their Portuguese lackeys are trying to subvert...

After SIC TV is good to see another Portuguese media outlet "Nova Gente" that does not pay tribute to the McCanns counter-information apparatus in Portugal (Lift Consulting)and multi-million legal team (Isabel Duarte, Rogerio Alves et al) not to mention their protective umbrella (Marinho Pinto and The Portuguese Lawyers Association)

Thank you Joana for having no fear and making this and other seminal texts available to a wider global audience. Pulitzer prize pending...

"For now it is time to conclude the “Madeleine case” and write about what, in my opinion, still remains to be done to ascertain the truth, the steps of investigation that need to be taken to know what really happened to that child." (Gonçalo "Big Rock" Amaral)

We very much look forward to the extended version of the "The Truth of the Lie" which if we could have it our way would be entitled:

What a huge "cachucho"! (portuguese popular expression for a big ring)For that round of interviews Kate got herself a new set of clothes and that big ring (if it is solid gold it must have cost a bundle!) and who knows what else! No wonder the fund needed some amendments to its articles...http://www.joana-morais.blogspot.com/2012/01/special-resolution-amendments-to.html

I bet Kate made a considerable "hole" in the fund with her shopping spree and now they want Mr. Amaral to pick up the tab!

"question the effectiveness, inevitability, legitimacy and democratic nature of the intervention of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and Financial Stabilization Fund in Portugal."

It has always been apparent to me as a Portuguese what the Germans (with the help of the naive or scared French) were up to. Having failed to rule Europe by means of brute force and ethnical cleansing they set about ruling it by Money and Political influence - thanks in part to lackeys of the kind of Isabel Duarte, Rogerio Alves and Marinho Pinto always eager to pay their psychological tribute to those they deem superior and extend their hands to their left overs. Superior race? How? Not a iota of emotional intelligence which for a living species is all that matters.

Progress? What for? Want a model of human civilization at its best? Go to the Amazonia and meet the tribes that are still, somehow, living there at the cutting edge of human civilization on Earth, something the kids on St. Pauls' London are trying to emulate. Live simply so that we may all simply live...............

14, I watched that video on the Telegraph and I see that that news paper made a collage, repeating the shots on the ring.That is a warning to the public and to the judges. The fund is helping a lot, isn't it?The Telegraph is not stupid and they are obviously not in favor of the Mccanns.

Loved the video on the Telegraph website. They have really learnt to control that body language now, haven't they? Does anyone recognise where the ring was bought and know how much it cost? It looks pretty tacky to me, but a lot of uber-expensive jewellery does. Probably she had it specially commissioned though to avoid anyone finding out such things. After all, money is no object these days, what with the Fund and the Bewk, and the good old British taxpayer picking up the tab for the "search".

!5 alleles (points) are enough in England as proof.Is it possible to make a trial there, against the McCanns and to put them in prison?Or is it better to do it in Portugal? Somewhere I read, long ago, that one couple of the Tapas splitted up, I don't know who.I bet it had to do with this case too.

@38 Though I understand the point your trying to make, your comment, generalizing the German and French people, is a bit xenophobic.

Joana, I truly understand you are the one running this blog (a much necessary lighthouse) and have to bring some standards of decency into it. You can't have nuts like me writing what I did. Please accept my apologies for lashing out. Must have been the medication. I have already called the doctor.

:e "Doooooctor!!!! Nuuuuurse!!!" God damn it! Where were you?"

Don't worry Joana about having them having their feelings hurt. A large number of the species ARE xenophobic too - even Nazis! Naturally quite a bunch of German, French and even Brits are decent human beings - full card-carrying members of the human race, not "xenos". I am sorry. (you can't blame "me" for what "I" did)

Any Portuguese person who has lived in both countries (and that applies to the UK as well) would agree with me on my earlier account, though.

Prof. João Magueijo, the famous Portuguese physicist based in England and known for detecting a potential error in Einstein's Theory (that light is a speed limit)had a very hard time in Cambridge and only felt comfortable after he adopted the natives xenophobic attitude and started throwing the dirt back at them.

It is not like these self-important non-entities invented the alphabet and the numbers. Not at all. First they had to be civilized. Ask yourself by whom?

Anyway the Magueijo byte appears somewhere in "Faster Than the Speed of Light" - The Story of a Scientific Speculation (Penguin Books).

Alternatively see/hear João's lecture below (YouTube link). Here he does not talk about "the curious incidents with the dogs in the night time". Only in the book.

Yes, I was being xenophobic but what do you think the McCanns are doing to Gonçalo Amaral should be called? Christian love?

Let us leave aside the needs of global economy where the French/Germans got more than what they bargained for with the Chinese suddenly appearing, out of the blue, into their private sky.

Now, how do they handle Kung Fu economics if all they have is boxing skills? Easily! By scapegoating! "It is not our fault it is their fault!". Sounds familiar? It sounds like the McCanns "Official Theory of Events", doesn't it? Same genus...

By the way, there is no need to extend these to our good friends Kate and Gerry McCann - two xenophobic "basterds" (to borrow Quentin Tarantino's own term) under the cover of "deconstruction justice" - the "common" law for the very rich run by expensive sophists such as Isabel Duarte, Rogerio Alves under cover of gentlemen like Marinho Pinto. All of whom, some might argue, are just a triad of bank accounts working for the enemy.

This phenomenon is nothing new in our history. It invariably happens when money, instead of our common spiritual ancestry, becomes the measure of all things.

#33 "One Truth, Many Lies (and Liars)" or perhaps "Madeleine Revisited" - now that's a title...Yeah! One Truth, Many Liars - would sound even better. Madeleine Revisited however is the title I would choose. It would outsell Madeleine even if both come in separate categories. Kate's Madeleine is a work of fiction (mostly). Amaral comes into the non-fiction category. Madeleine Revisted indeed. Can we place our advanced orders here?

Without assets nor money, the former inspector returned to his parents' home at the age of 53. (in the interview)

I find it difficult to believe, even knowing this is the case... that the McCanns, through the good offices of their Portuguese lawyer Isabel Duarte, had all of Gonçalo Amaral's assets confiscated years before the man had been found innocent and/or guilty, thus effectively preventing him from contracting a lawyer to defend himself and destroying his marriage in the process. Thank heavens for Joana Morais and friends' defence fund!

The McCanns also ensured they had not only the best and most expensive lawyers in the country but, as we have learned here, but alsop the Head of the Lawyers Association on their side. A close friend of Isabel Duarte who, as we have seen in the previous Amaral's trial, can dictate to a judge its own decision - with or without "Photoshop" evidence...

Is Portugal's justice system of the WYPIWYG type?What you pay is what you get?

I can't help but think the McCanns are going to get themselves well and truly hated by many people throughout the world because of this. After all, it was not the fault of Dr Amaral that the McCanns lost their daughter. He was the innocent one doing his job to try and find her and has ultimately paid a heavy price for that. They are the ones who should have been taking care of her, but weren't, and ended up 'losing' her instead.

Yes, much hated by many people, as it will be seen as unjustified vindictive persecution and harassment on their part of a fine, honourable man.

The PJ seems to have more hair of Madeline's than we knew.According to Amaral Madeleine used medicines till her last day.And he told that it is possible to determine the DNA out the hair, even without roots. I always trusted the PJ would keep some traces of everything with them and they did.Not everything sent to England.

I loved Amaral and Hernâni(why a circonflex?)Carvalho (MCCann Files).I think Amaral knows what is going on between the PJ and the Scotland Yard.He looks too well and happy.Will he share this happyness with us?

The McCanns have destroyed so many lives, beginning with Madeleine. They have destroyed the twins who will one day know the truth. Robert Murat's life was thrown into turmoil. Now they have destroyed the career and marriage of a man who was a stranger to them when they so callously disposed of their daughter. The T7 don't seem to be around much. Where is David Payne these days, the accused pedophile? His name will forever be associated with Madeleine and other heinous crimes. If he's innocent then why not sue like Mr. Amaral? Why not sue like Robert Murat?

56, I don't think David Payne will sue anybody. He chooses not to attrackt the attention to himself.And he can not sue the Gaspars because they are protected by law, they can state whatever they want.Besides destroying Murat's and Amaral's lives, David Payne's is also destroyed, after those serious accusations. He will never get rid of his title "paedophile".And very many people believe the whole Tapas 9 are paedophiles, men and women. If those stupid Tapas 7 keep hiding what really happened that night, they will live and die carrying that name. Their choice.

theres something strange thats binding those tapas 7 together ,just think how much the papers would pay for there story if they decided to tell what really happened .its also strange how we havnt heard a thing from them ,surely being such good mates of the mcs you would have thought that they would be at the forefront of the macs are innocent campaine

You would think that by now the Tapas 7 would have realised that the McCanns and their entourage care nothing for anyone else, and will destroy anyone who gets in their way. I cannot imagine what could be securing their silence and loyalty to this egregious pair. This case will be famous way beyond the lifetimes of those involved, and especially if it never gets solved (cf The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, which is a very old cae) and the rest of the Tapas will be tainted for the rest of their lives with the stigma of association with whatever the McCanns did unless they turn themselves into heroes by coming clean, even at this late stage. I know what I would do, assuming that swinging was the worst thing they were up to.

I would not allow my child to go to the McCanns' home and to play with Sean and Amelie.Kate is unstable and Gerry could be dangerous to young children. And imagine Payne coming along while my child would be there.No way.The PJ have the proof that Madeleine was sedated till the last day of her life:hair.And the McCanns denied it.I also think that Madeleine was not an easy child to live with.But no reason to eliminate her.They had money enough to contract a nanny to spend the nights at their home, controlling the girl.At least a couple of nights per week.Or Kate would go sleeping in a hotel, for a couple of nights.Maybe special homes for difficult children.It is easy for me to come up with all kind of solutions because it is not my problem. Besides, it is too late.There is no political lobby around the McCanns anymore. Tapas 7 can come forward.